Early '80s sitcom "It Takes Two"

Anyone remember Susan Harris's short-lived, post-"Soap" and "Benson"/pre-"Golden Girls" sitcom about a dual career couple living in a Chicago high rise? It starred Richard Crenna and Patty Duke as the couple, with Anthony Edwards (who was hot back then) and Helen Hunt as their kids.
The kitchen set used in the show (seen beginning at the 4:15 mark in the following video) was preserved after its cancellation and later used as the "Golden Girls" kitchen, with the only major change being the exterior backdrop seen through the kitchen window, which was switched from a view of neighboring Chicago high-rise buildings to that of palm trees and bushes for "The Golden Girls".

I don't remember if I ever watched it, but I remember its existence. Which is more than it deserves.

How/why did the studio keep these sets on ice? Or did they reconstruct them?
I remember that random sets from Soap popped up on Golden Girls too. Fr. Flotsky's mother's house was the same as the house Dorothy grew up in.

Was Richard Crenna raped in this one?

[quote]How/why did the studio keep these sets on ice?
Per Wikipedia, the producers felt the kitchen set would have use in the future.

It looks like they recycled the typeface in the opening credits for GG, too.
Also, worst theme song EVER.
And how did Oscar winner PDA get billed below Richard Crenna?

PDA was lucky to get the job, coming off years of being "unreliable".
That is not an appropriate sitcom theme song.
Helen Hunt has a pretty strong presence.

Witt/Thomas/Harris used that typeface for all their shows, R6.
Soap, Benson, I'm a Big Girl Now, Golden Girls, Nurses, It's a Living, Golden Palace...
(But not Empty Nest, for some reason.)
God knows why on both counts.

Helen Hunt and Anthony Edwards were in it.

Anthony Edwards was HAWT with a full head of luscious blond hair.
He lost that shit fast.

Yes, R9, we've established this.

I was in middle school and really liked this show. Anthony Edwards was cute. Billie Bird was crazy. Helen Hunt wasn't too annoying.
Although I suppose I should have known I was gay by then, I had a girlfriend at the time. I used to try to get her to watch it and I would sing that Crystal Gale theme song to her when we would talk on the phone.
And I agree that song isn't good for a sitcom.

I developed my crush on Helen Hunt watching the show. I think my favorite character was the grandmother.

gayboy

OP, now that I know that fact, what do I do?

Sally%20Brown

Another 1980s thread.

Were Helen Hunt and Anthony Edwards in this?

Good Lord.. Did Anthony Edwards lose his hair overnight? Wasn't he mostly bald by the mid-80's?

He still had his hair in both Revenge of the Nerds movies. I think he started to lose it by the time he did that movie "Downtown" in the late 80s.

Thanks for posting, OP. I remember that show. Patty Duke--a national treasure.

So yall dont like the theme song for this sitcome, how come the theme song to Family Ties worked? To me they are similar...

Susan Harris always had the worst looking shows. You could tell it was a Witt/Thomas/Harris production with the drab sets, lighting, and washed out video. Porn of that era had better production values.

R20, Family Ties used sentimental visuals in their opening (the original one, anyway), and that was a pretty good match for the theme song.
It Takes Two used a theme song that was even more romantic ("hopelessly falling in love once again") but used typical crass sitcom opening visuals -- just clips from the actual episodes. No one wants to hear Crystal Gayle seductively singing the lyric "that's where love spends the night" while watching Billie Bird and her wig mugging for the camera. It's off-putting.

I loved the this too bad it was renewed. I read that Patty said she could have done this show for many years, b/c of the cast and crew. It was during this time that she was diagnosed as a manic depressive.

This thread is why I love DL; I am a swf (not THE swf) in my 40s and you people are the only ones who have these thoughts and discussions...until I found this thread I thought I was just a sad nostalgic weirdo. Well I still think that but now I know there are more out there.

Sad%20Nostalgic%20Weirdo

r27 LOVE U :-)

Didn't they do an episode where Edwards' teenage character has an affair with his adult tutor? I seem to remember a hot shirtless bed scene with him...

yes

Jesus, R29. It's the scene that OP linked! Christ, some idiots need to be spoonfed everything.

There%27s%20lazy%20and%20then%20there%27s%20LAZY

Crystal Gayle and PAUL WILLIAMS, bitches!
I never imagined a day that I would miss his weird little voice and strange pronounciations.

Just figured it was the opening title sequence or something, R31. Didn't EVER expect someone to have kept an actual recording of that episode, Edwards hotness notwithstanding...

R29

I watched religiously and always cracked up at the senile grandma Billie Bird. The show was actually supposed to be renewed for a second year but got cancelled due to red tape at the network. WITT THOMAS had too many shows on ABC or something like that, and the network was forced to choose between IT TAKES TWO or another season of BENSON which would give the latter show enough episodes for syndication. Of course, IT TAKES TWO lost out.

[quote] I never imagined a day that I would miss his weird little voice and strange pronounciations.
Oh Dear!!!

The whole re-used set issue happened with a lot of older shows. They really didn't spend much on budgets for sets on many shows - it was later, post 1980 Dynasty and Dallas years, that sets got more expensive and complex.
Even on a show like Mary Tyler Whore, you could tell that it essentially had a few sets - Mary and Rhoda's place, the newsroom, and also a third place that would be Murray, or Lou, or Ted's place whenever needed. And I know there were shows that I saw that reused other sets - there's a set somewhere that used the same kitchen and living room from Maude.

R27 I hear you.
I remember a lot of these TV shows from the late 70s and 80s fondly. Some of it is the shows themselves, especially the good ones. And some of it was the memory of watching TV with my family.
My mom's been gone for almost six years, the house we grew up in sold a few years back, and my sister took her life - and died far too young. So yes, sometimes I like to watch those shows, or listen to old music, and spend a little time remembering that period, too.

I can't quite tell from that scene; does Anthony Edwards have a tragic case of tinynips? He's cute, but no Robby Benson.

He is also no Bubba from Mama's family.

Aren't Richard Crenna and Jon Astin the same person?

PDA was lucky to get the job, coming off years of being "unreliable".
Broke and desperate. Her kids say she was still a tyrant at home.

I didn't know that was a real show which aired. I thought it was just an unused pilot that was used as bait for Focus groups.

[quote]Even on a show like Mary Tyler Whore, you could tell that it essentially had a few sets - Mary and Rhoda's place, the newsroom, and also a third place that would be Murray, or Lou, or Ted's place whenever needed. And I know there were shows that I saw that reused other sets - there's a set somewhere that used the same kitchen and living room from Maude.
I watched a Bob Newhart episode the other night where Bob and Jerry went out of town to watch a Chicago Bulls game that was blacked out in Chicago. The hotel room was Jerry's apartment, barely redressed -- and it was incredibly obvious, since his apartment was used earlier in the episode.

Bump

I vaguely remember this show.
Anthony Edwards and Helen Hunt played the kids.
Anthony still had hair back then!
I think there was an episode where Edwards has an affair with an older woman, and he's shirtless in one episode.